Although both live-action, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, and animated films can be categorized under the Walt Disney Pictures label, they are not necessarily made by Disney. Miramax tends to produce more independent films, such as No Country for Old Men. For this research, we will mainly focus on the films that are produced by "Walt Disney Pictures." Occasionally, there might be updates about Miramax or Touchstone, but not on any regular basis.

The Industry

Walt Disney Pictures is part of the heavily concentrated "Motion Picture Production and Distribution" Industry. The 11,000 companies within it (most of which are owned by larger studios) bring in annual revenue of approx. $33. billion, according to Hoover's. The dominant players are Disney, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount, Fox, Universal Studios, and Warner Brothers.

According to Box Office Mojo, Disney (which distributes all films under the Buena Vista label) is ranked fifth as far as gross earnings in the studio industry. Buena Vista's approximate market share is 10.3%. The studios that are ranked ahead of Disney are WB, Paramount, Sony/Columbia, and Universal studios.

Currently, the financial crisis has taken a tole on the entertainment industry. However, many analysts feel that Disney will ultimately come out on top. The reasoning for this is that Disney is not very dependent on advertising. Disney's last quarter ending November 6th was very strong for the larger Disney Corporation.